Gandhi Institute For Technology GIFT

Choosing the right route

• Founders co-founding with a GIFT researcher are the policy's main audience. Start with the centre if that describes your team.
• Students and faculty who want the academic benefits need prior approval from the institute before they start.
• Teams with no link to the college should ask whether they qualify before writing a full application.

How applications work

• Prepare the idea, the team details and a business plan or a working prototype.
• GIFT's pages list no online form for incubation applications. Send enquiries to info@gift.edu.in.

How selection works

• The centre screens on innovation, feasibility, scalability and impact.
• Shortlisted teams pitch or meet the Incubation Committee before the final decision.

What reviewers look for

• A technology-based idea, ideally one that comes out of research or a clear commercial route in a technology domain.
• A team that can commit to incubation for up to 18 months.

GIFT Innovation and Incubation Centre (GIIC) is the incubator of GIFT Autonomous, an autonomous college at Gangapada, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It is the nodal body for innovation, incubation and startup work across the college, and it runs pre-incubation and incubation support for technology-based startups.

What the centre does

GIIC describes its support as start-to-scale for technology-based startups. The support it names covers mentoring and training on business strategy, product development and market validation, introductions to industry, investors and mentors through its network, and access to funding. That funding includes internal seed funding and links to external grants. For new startups, the policy also offers business incubation premises at a subsidised cost, with access to laboratories, research facilities, IT services and training.

The centre's own incubation page describes a research ecosystem with in-house laboratory facilities. It also says each incubated project gets infrastructure support such as workspace and internet.

Who can apply

The policy's main route is for startups jointly owned or co-founded by GIFT Autonomous researchers, with or without outsiders. It also covers startups that come directly out of the institute's research and development work, startups pursuing commercialisation in technology domains, and startups that do not compete with the college's core activities. Other startups are considered case by case.

The incubation page says each project is run by a team of entrepreneurs who are students, alumni or industry members. GIFT's pages do not state a city or residency rule for applicants. Teams with no link to the college should ask the centre before preparing a full application.

How selection works

An application sets out the idea, the team details, and a business plan or prototype. The centre screens applications on innovation, feasibility, scalability and impact. Shortlisted teams then pitch or meet the Incubation Committee, and the final choice rests on merit and fit with the institute's aims.

Incubation tenure runs up to 18 months unless the centre's policy extends it. When incubation ends, the team must vacate the facilities. Early exit applies in cases of policy violation, non-compliance or misuse of resources. Post-incubation mentoring may continue at the institute's discretion.

Equity and terms

In return for services and facilities, the centre may take equity or a share of profit. The policy caps that stake at 9.5 per cent. Terms depend on the funding, infrastructure and mentoring provided, and every arrangement is agreed and written down. The policy names both equity and rent as the forms of consideration for incubation support.

Intellectual property follows the institute's IPR policy. Work done with institute resources is shared or licensed under that policy, and inventors who license to their own company may pay royalties of up to 4 per cent of the sale price.

Students

Full-time UG, PG and PhD students at the college who start a company can earn co-curricular academic credits for startup work at GIIC. They can also get attendance relaxation of up to 20 per cent with prior approval, and project work can be substituted.

Who runs it

The Entrepreneurship Development Cell is a separate college body. It was reconstituted under the chairmanship of the Dean of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Projects, and it is meant to encourage entrepreneurial initiatives and mentor aspiring entrepreneurs at the institution. GIIC is the nodal body for innovation and startup activity, and the policy sets out its duties to the institute.

Recognition

The Ministry of MSME recognises GIFT College as a Host Institute and Business Incubator for its scheme on entrepreneurial and managerial development of SMEs through incubators. The incubation page gives this as the basis for the centre's MSME role.

Where to find it

The centre is on the Gramadiha campus at Gangapada, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 752054. The college also has a city office in Krishna Tower, Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar.